"Beep! Beep! Beep!"
The Driver was frantically honking the horn as he drove towards the police station.
As a result, even before the van had entered the station grounds, officers had already noticed the vehicle's unusual behavior.
Several armed policemen immediately drew their weapons, aiming at the van's tires in firing position, and shouted a warning.
"Stop the vehicle!"
It wasn't that they were overly nervous.
The van was simply behaving too erratically.
Driving towards the police station at such high speed like a madman, pressing the gas pedal and honking the horn simultaneously, made it difficult not to associate the driver with someone harboring a grudge against the police, intent on revenge.
For all they knew, there could even be a bomb in the vehicle, with the driver possibly being a lunatic bent on blowing up the station.
"Stop the vehicle! Or we'll open fire!" the armed officers shouted another warning.
If the van didn't slow down, they were prepared to shoot out its tires to prevent it from approaching the station building.
Fortunately, the van stopped instead of continuing towards the building.
Seeing this, the officers breathed a sigh of relief, lowering their guard slightly.
Their gun barrels dipped a bit, though they didn't completely lower their weapons.
"Officer, don't shoot! I'm not a bad guy! I'm here for help!" the Driver shouted out the window, hands raised above his head.
Seeing that the driver's hands were visible and posed no threat, the officers approached together.
They opened the van door: "Get out!"
The officers then split into two groups, one searching the Driver while the other searched the vehicle, intent on eliminating all potential dangers.
The Driver cooperated fully, not daring to move an inch.
As the officers searched him, he began explaining the situation.
"Officer, I was kidnapped. The kidnapper is near the public restroom not far from the police station! There are six other kidnapped people in the van..."
The officers found no weapons on the Driver, nor any explosives in the vehicle.
Combined with what the Driver was saying, the officers realized they had misunderstood the situation and lowered their guns.
The man before them wasn't an extremist; he had no ill intentions but had just escaped a kidnapping.
His reckless driving towards the police station was likely due to fear, with only the station able to provide a sense of security after such a harrowing experience.
"What does the kidnapper look like?" the Police Captain asked, ready to gather information and then lead a team to apprehend the culprit.
The Driver thought for a moment, then shook his head in confusion: "I can't really describe him in detail. He's pretty young, maybe 24 or 25, a bit taller than me, about this height. And... he's wearing black clothes."
Seeing the Driver couldn't provide a detailed description, the Captain didn't press further.
It was normal for most people to be unable to accurately describe a stranger's appearance.
But it didn't matter much.
Height, gender, approximate age, and clothing were already strong identifying factors that could greatly narrow down their search.
Moreover, police officers possess an acuity far beyond that of ordinary people.
Especially veteran officers.
A single glance is often enough for them to determine if someone is hiding something.
The Captain nodded: "Alright, thank you for the information."
He then turned to one of the officers behind him.
"Little Wu, take him inside for some water to calm down. The rest of you, come with me. We'll check around the public restroom for anyone matching the description who looks suspicious. The kidnapper can't have gone far without a vehicle. Let's bring him in. We can't allow such individuals to continue their misdeeds."
It was too brazen!
A true disregard for the law.
Kidnapping seven people in broad daylight and stealing a car - the social impact was far from trivial.
Such a destabilizing element had to be apprehended immediately. Every second this person remained at large was a serious dereliction of duty for the officers.
Just as the officers were preparing to leave the station to make the arrest, the Driver spoke up with a reminder.
"Officer, that person has a gun! Maybe you should... wear bulletproof vests before going?"
The lead officer paused.
A gun too?
All the more reason to arrest him!
The arrest operation couldn't be delayed for even a second. Who knows what crazy things the kidnapper might do if he escaped.
However, he did consider the safety of the officers under his command. He turned to his colleagues: "Alright, I'll go keep an eye on things first. The rest of you go get bulletproof vests, then come join me."
Without waiting for a response from the other officers, he ran straight for the station's main entrance.
He told the other officers to wear bulletproof vests to prevent injuries.
His decision to go ahead and keep watch was to prevent the fugitive from escaping while they were putting on their vests.
After all, a fugitive wouldn't wait around for them to don protective gear!
However, the other officers didn't follow his instructions. They had no intention of putting on vests and instead followed right behind him.
The kidnapper had a gun - wouldn't it be more dangerous for the captain to go alone?
...
Xu Mo was still standing near the public restroom.
Although he knew the police might arrive soon, he didn't leave.
Instead, he took out his phone and dialed Song Yixue's number.
At that moment, Song Yixue was watching the livestream. Seeing Xu Mo calling, she answered immediately without hesitation.
"Hello, is something wrong?"
"Can't I just call to chat if nothing's wrong?" Xu Mo replied casually with a laugh.
"How boring!" Hearing this, Song Yixue instinctively assumed Xu Mo was calling to tease her and was about to hang up.
Xu Mo then turned serious.
"I'm not joking around. There is something. Would I call you for no reason? You saw it, right? All the fugitives have been caught, I'm the only one still out here. The two million yuan prize should be mine now, right? When is your production team planning to pay out?"
"They've all been caught, so the prize is definitely yours. As for when the prize money will be given out... let's wait until the show ends. We'll settle everything then. Don't worry, you won't be shortchanged," Song Yixue replied.
Although the three groups of fugitives hadn't been caught by the Investigation Team personally, they were now at the police station. Being delivered to the station was essentially the same as being caught by the Investigation Team. According to the show's rules, they had been eliminated.
Currently, Xu Mo was the only fugitive still at large, so the two million yuan grand prize was naturally his.
Xu Mo smiled.
"That's good..."
Before he could finish speaking, the system prompt sounded.
"You have successfully captured a fugitive. Reward obtained - Truth Serum ×10!"
"You have successfully captured a fugitive. Reward obtained - Firearms Master!"
"You have successfully captured a fugitive. Reward obtained - Forensic Science Knowledge!"
...